LNWR Class A

LNWR Class A
No. 50 in photographic grey livery
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer F.W. Webb Builder LNWR at Crewe Works Build date 1893–1900 Total produced 111
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-8-0  • UIC D n3vG Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 4 ft 5.5 in (1.359 m)1 Wheelbase 17 ft 3 in (5.26 m) Loco weight 50 long tons 0 cwt (112,000 lb or 50.8 t) Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 175 psi (1.21 MPa) Heating surface 1,489 sq ft (138.3 m2) Cylinders Three, compound High-pressure cylinder (2 outside) 15 by 24 inches (380 mm × 610 mm) Low-pressure cylinder (1 inside) 30 by 24 inches (760 mm × 610 mm) Valve gear Stephenson link motion
Career Operators London and North Western Railway Disposition 15 rebuilt to Class C 1904–06 62 rebuilt to Class D 1906–09 34 rebuilt to Class C1 1909–12

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Class A was a class of 0-8-0 steam locomotives. From 1893 to 1900, Crewe Works built 111 of these engines, which had a three-cylinder compound arrangement, and were designed by Francis Webb. According to the LNWR Society, 110 were built between 1894 and 1900.²

Like the other Webb compounds, they proved problematic, so in 1904 George Whale began rebuilding these to simple expansion engines. Fifteen were converted to Class C between 1904 and 1906, 62 to Class D between 1906 and 1909, with the remaining 34 rebuilt by Charles Bowen Cooke to Class C1 between 1909 and 1912.

All Class D locomotives were later rebuilt to Class G1. Some of them, rebuilt to Class G2A, were still running in 1962.³

The LNWR letter classification system for 8 coupled engines (A, B, C, etc.) was introduced in 1911.